Immortal Mine (37 page)

“No,” Jean’s denial is immediate.

“Gra—Jean,” I say firmly, changing the word
I almost called her, aware that it might seem a little strange for
this young woman to be my grandma. “They don’t know me. They have
no idea who I am. I go up front, pay, and leave. They won’t even
look at me twice. I’ll meet you at the car.” She’s shaking her
head, but I don’t acknowledge it.

“Go with her,” I urge, pleading now. “Do you
have our bill?” I ask the server. She fishes it out of her pocket
and hands it to me. “Thank you,” I tell her sincerely. She nods and
turns toward the kitchen. “
Go
,” I say, squeezing Jean’s
hand, trying to look confident in the plan, which I am anything
but.

“Be careful,” she whispers.

“You, too,” I say. “I’ll stand up at the
same time to block you. Don’t look that way, just go.”

She nods and we both stand. She follows the
server, who is glancing nervously over her shoulder. I take a
breath and turn toward the register at the front. I make my way
over, trying to be casual, trying not to break and run as I’d like
to. I have to wait a couple of minutes for the hostess to come up
to take my money, minutes that feel like eternities as I force
myself not to look their way, not matter how much I want to.

Finally, the woman comes over and takes the
bill from me.

“Excuse me,” a masculine voice says. I
glance over my shoulder and see the scarred Sentinel right next to
me. My heart stops dead even as blood rushes to my head, filling my
ears with a whooshing sound. “Can I get a menu?”

“Sure,” the woman says, pulling one from the
slot on the side of her desk. “You change your mind?”

“My friend is rethinking his choice,” he
says, smiling at her. He glances quickly at me, a polite stranger’s
glance to include me in their exchange. My blood turns to ice. I
quickly look away.

He takes the menu and returns to his table
as she takes my money. I’ve given her way too much, but say,
“Please give the change to our server for her tip.” The hostess
raises her eyebrows a little at the gesture, but I need to go now
before I make some stupid mistake.

I move to the door, and as I’m stepping out,
I glance behind me. The man is watching me. His look could easily
be interpreted as benign, but I don’t know that for certain. I step
through the door, forcing myself not to rush to the parking lot
which is on the side of the building. The car is already running
and I breathe a sigh of relief. I open the passenger door and slide
in.

“Let’s go,” I say, glancing over—at Sam.
“What are you doing here?” I demand angrily.

“I called him,” Jean says from the backseat.
I look at her, see that though she’s still worried, she’s slightly
more relaxed. I know I should be grateful she made it out okay, but
I’m furious. I turn my gaze back to Sam.

“What, you have some kind of transporting
power also that you forgot to tell me about?”

“He was already here,” Jean says. “Please,
let’s go.”

Sam continues to watch me for a few seconds
before putting on a baseball cap and shifting the car into
gear.

“Get down, Jean,” he says, and she lays
herself flat on the back seat. As we pull around the building, I
see the two men exiting the restaurant. They look at us, Scars eyes
meeting mine. He acts casual, but it seems as forced as when I was
doing it. Sam also looks over at them, though he looks quickly
away, as if dismissing them as casual strangers.

“This isn’t right,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Sam asks.

“They shouldn’t be leaving the restaurant
yet. They haven’t been there long enough to eat.”

“Take out?” Sam questions.

“I don’t know. Maybe. But I kind of doubt it
since they were seated at a booth.”

“Okay, well, let’s just remain calm, not
panic yet,” he says, glancing in the rearview mirror.

We drive in tense silence for a few
minutes.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

Sam’s jaw clenches, as if he’s fighting
answering.

“I followed you,” he finally says.

I huff out an affronted breath, but before I
can say anything, Jean says, “I asked them to come.”

“
Them
?” I say.

“Shane is here also,” Sam says.

“Niahm, I knew there could be some danger in
coming here,” Jean says.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, turning
toward the backseat where she’s still lying, though now propped up
on one elbow.

“Are you kidding?” she laughs. “I wasn’t
about to pass this trip up. I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to have
a little backup.”

“But you knew that Sam and I were—” I stop,
not quite sure how to finish.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know why.”

“Even if she hadn’t called, I still would
have followed,” Sam says.

Before I can respond, Jean says, “I was
hoping you wouldn’t have to know they were here.”

Her words bring back to mind our current
situation, and I glance behind us.

“Yeah, they’re back there,” Sam confirms. He
pulls his cell phone out and punches a single number. “Shane, I
think they’re following us.”

He’s silent for a moment, then hands the
phone to me. I stare at it blankly.

“Just hold it for a sec,” he says
distractedly. “We’re going to see if they keep following us. See
that black SUV a few cars back?” I look back and see it. I nod.
“Keep an eye on it and tell me if it follows us.”

He makes a sudden right turn, without any
warning. The SUV, being some space back, has more time to make the
turn without it seeming so abrupt.

“Still behind us,” I say.

Sam takes another left then right again. I
watch the SUV follow, fear crawling up my spine.

Sam grits something out beneath his breath
that sounds garbled and foreign. He gives up trying to appear
casual and speeds up. “You’re going to have to tell Shane where we
are, tell him every time we turn and what street we’re turning
on.”

It takes me a few seconds to realize where
we are. “Hello?” I say hesitantly as I bring the phone up to my
ear.

“What are your coordinates?” Shane
demands.

“Uh... ” I look out the window, trying to
spy the street signs. “We’re on 4800 west,” I say. “We’re just
going through the intersection of Fredondo Avenue.”

“Which direction?” Shane’s abrupt question
deflates my pride in telling him where we are.

“I don’t know.” I turn to Sam. “What
direction are we going?” I ask him.

“North.”

I repeat the information to Shane, and
suddenly Jean sits up and takes the phone from me. “Hey!” I
exclaim.

“I know the area well,” she says. “I can
give him a more accurate idea of where we are.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be hiding?” I
ask.

“I think it’s a little late for that now,
don’t you?” Her gaze is unwavering and full of fear. I open my
mouth, but she says, “Don’t argue with me, Niahm. Let’s get safe
first and then you can lecture me all you want.” I swallow over the
lump lodged in my throat and nod.

Sam says some more of the strange words more
vehemently. The SUV closes on us. Jean shouts speaking directions
into the phone. Unthinkingly, I reach out to Sam who is gripping
the steering wheel with both hands. His eyes scan my face. His
intense worry for me is deeper than any emotion directed toward me,
including from my own parents.

“Hold on,” he says, turning his attention
back to the road. He stomps the gas pedal and we jump ahead. The
SUV doesn’t hesitate to follow suit. We rocket around other cars on
the road, then through a red light, brakes squealing as another car
avoids hitting us. The SUV weaves around the stopped car in the
intersection. Reality has been suspended and I’ve been thrown into
a stereotypical action movie.

“They have guns,” Jean warns frantically as
we swerve around another corner near an industrial area, away from
traffic. The buildings are large and flat, empty this time of day.
A loud pop sounds, and suddenly our own car is fishtailing out of
control. Sam frantically pulls at the steering wheel, trying to
retain control. The car is leaning unnaturally to the side. Time
slows for me to watch my own destruction and that of the two people
I love most. The car flips up onto its side, sliding along the
pavement, sparks flying. Sam grips my hand in his. I grasp his
desperately, realizing that the screaming I can hear is my own.

A loud, grinding metal sound drowns out my
voice as I realize we are now upside down. I have time to gasp out
one word before my world goes black.

“Sam.”

The car finally stops its movement when it
slams into the side of one of the buildings. Before it stops I’m
unbuckling my seat belt. With an
oof
I drop to the ceiling
of the car. Niahm’s eyes are closed and she’s not screaming
anymore. I fumble with the buckle holding her suspended, catching
her as she falls. In the back, Jean is moaning. She hadn’t been
buckled in and so her fall had been a bit more painful than
mine.

“Jean, move,” I command. She nods and crawls
toward the shattered windshield. The SUV has screeched to a stop.
We have seconds at most. I slide out the opening, ignoring the pain
from the tears in my skin caused by the twisted metal of the
windshield frame, trying to protect Niahm’s fragile skin. Once
through, I reach behind and pull Jean out. She’s still sluggish,
but recovering.

With Niahm in arms, I run toward the nearest
warehouse, Jean on my heels. I pull the gun from my pocket and
shoot at the nearest glass door which explodes inward. I continue
past the door as Jean shoots me a questioning look, but I don’t
have time to explain. We round the corner of the building, not
slowing.

Behind the warehouse are some large storage
sheds. I run behind them and slip between the building and the
sheds. In my arms, Niahm moans, rousing. I stop and turn back
toward Jean who hurries forward to touch her granddaughter.

“Niahm, sweetie, are you okay?” she whispers
as she brushes her hands down Niahm’s cheeks.

“What... where...” Niahm’s eyes finally
focus on me, and then Jean. I watch as memory rushes through her
mind and she looks around. “Where are we?” Her voice is too loud in
the silence, and Jean immediately lays a hand across her lips.

“Shh,” she hisses at Niahm. Niahm
silences.

“We’re behind some sheds, but the Sentinels
are behind us,” I whisper. “We need to find a place to hide until
it’s safe to escape.”

“Okay, put me down,” she whispers back, more
calmly than I would have expected. I let her legs down but retain
my hold on her until I’m sure she has her balance. Jean gives her a
quick hug as she pulls away from me, and I’m insanely jealous that
I can’t follow suit.

“We need to hurry,” I say more harshly than
needed. “Follow me.”

I continue down the small alley in front of
Niahm, Jean behind. We don’t need to speak to know that this is the
best way to keep her alive. We come to a gap between two of the
sheds and I peer around the corner. No movement, so I follow this
new path. When we get to the front of the sheds, I look around the
corner. I can’t see the Sentinels but I can hear them. I reach
behind me and take Niahm’s hand which she immediately rips from my
grasp. I cringe but don’t look back at her.

Across the lot there is another warehouse
with a metal door on the side for entrance that is only held closed
with a padlock. To my right is a pile of rebar. I send a silent
prayer of thanks to the sky and turn toward Niahm and Jean.

“I’m going to grab one of those rebar and
see if I can open that door,” I say, pointing. Niahm immediately
begins shaking her head frantically.

“No, Sam. You’ll be out in the open, they’ll
see you.”

I brush a thumb across her jaw, gone before
she can react. “We’re sitting ducks here. If we can get inside we
have a chance.” I look at Jean.

“Go, Sam. I’ve got her,” she says, wrapping
her arms around Niahm. I give Niahm on last look, trying to convey
my concern for her before I slip stealthily around the corner.
Staying tight against the front of the sheds, I manage to reach the
rebar without incident. As I lean down to pick one up, I hear
movement behind me and dart behind a forklift.

“They’re here somewhere,” I hear a man’s
voice say, low. They aren’t near me, but I hear them clearly.

“I’m aware of that,” another answers
impatiently. “How long before police show to investigate the
accident?”

“Doesn’t matter,” says the first. “We’re
concerned citizens who saw it happen, and stopped when we saw the
driver and her passenger run away.”

“Who’s the girl?” the second asks and my gut
clenches in anger and alarm for Niahm.

“I don’t know, but Kory’s on it. He’ll get
the tapes if they have any.”